Starch-table and apparatus for handling starch.



R. F. SHERMAN.

. "STARCH TABLE AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STAHCH.

' APPLICATION FILED JULY 5,1913. 1,147,899, Patented July 2/, 1915.

8 SHEETSSHEET I.

R. F. SHERMAN.

STARCH TABLE AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STARCH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5-1913- Patented July 27, 1915..

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R. F. SHERMAN. I STARCH TABLE AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STARCH.

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Z/JfiZ/Ze R. F. SHERMAN- STARCH TABLE AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STARCH. 1,147,899,

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5.1913.

Patented July 27, 1915 B SHEETS-SHEET 4.

I R. F. SHERMAN. STARCH TABLE AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STARCH. APPLICATION FILED JULY? 1913.

1,147,899. I Patented July 27, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 5- R. F. SHERMAN.

STAR CH TABLE AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STARCH.-

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5. I913.

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STARCH TABLE AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STARCH.

. APPLICATION FILED lULY 5, 19'3- 1,147,899. Patented July 27, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

R. F. SHERMAN.

STARCH TABLE :AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STARCH. 1,147,899.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5,1913- Patented July 27, 1915.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

curios.

ROBERT F. SHERMAN, 0F PIEKIN, ILL INOIS.

I STARCH-TAIBLE AND AEPARATUS FOR HANDLING STARCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 27,1915.

Application filed July 5, 1913. Serial No. 777,559.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT F. SHERMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pekin, in the county of Tazewell and State of Illinois, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in a Starch-Table and Apparatus for Handling Starch, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for handling starch in order to separate it from the starch liquor which contains the starch andgluten, and in delivering the starch to the receiving vessels" after it has been removed from said liquor.

- It has for one of its objects the production of an apparatus for receiving the starch liquor and passing it onto and over a suitable-surface in such a manner as to most efiectively and efficiently separate the starch from the liquor and gluten without affecting injuriously the quality of the starch.

It has for a further object the production of apparatus for delivering the separated starch to the proper receiving vessels without injury in'any way to the quality of the starch, and in -a very expeditious and cheap manner.

The invention has for a further object the .production of suitable apparatus for carryingout the method of separating and hand'lingthe starch which produces the results hereinabove specified.

It has long been common in the manufacture of starch to allow the starch to settle from the starch liquor. which contains not only the starch, but also a small amount of sulfurous' acid, together Withmost of the glutinous material contained in the original grain, and comparatively small amounts of 1101", except the starch itself, will bedesig nated collectively under the customary name of gluten, although it is not intended by this name to signify the exact substances. In or-- der to allow the starch to settle from this liquor, it is customary to pass the liquor onto long tables which are slightly inclined longitudinally. These tables, ordinarily, consist of wooden or concrete troughs with fiat bottoms, the bottoms comprising a slightly inclined plane surface, usually from one hundredto a hundred and thirty feet long, two feet wide, and provided with vertical walls about ten inches high along. each side and across the higher end, or head, of the table,

the lower end or tail of the table being left open. The total drop from head to tail of the table is usually three or four inches. The heads of all of the tables on a fioor are in line at one side of the building, and the foot ends or tails of the tables are in line at the opposite side of the building.

Passing along the heads of the tables is a large pipe, from three to six inches in diameter, from which the starch liquor-is discharged onto the tables through lateral branches, the rate of flow being controlled by cocks-placed in said branches. This feed system is supplied from a tank in the upper part of the table house. Along the tail ends of the tables a trough runs which receives the tailings from the tables, conducting it away to be retabled, or otherwise used in process.

The starch liquor is. discharged onto' the tables through the lateral feed pipes, and immediately spreads out to the full width of the table. As the liquor flows slowly over the tables, due to their slight incline, the starch granules, the density of which is high compared to the gluten, gradually settle down, and are deposited on the table surface, while the gluten tends to remain in suspension or solution, and, together with a comparatively small amount oflundep'osited starch, is discharged as tailings frolnthe foot of the tables. \Vhen the layer of deposited starch has attained a depth of eight or nine inches at the head of the table, the flow of starch liquor -is stopped, and any gluten remaining on the surface of the deposited starch is removed by Wooden sweeps, the widths of which are equal to that of the tables. In ordinary practice, men thenenter the tables and shovel out the wet starch.

commonly called table starch, using for the purpose spades provided with varnished wooden blades. Such blades are less likely to injurethe wet table, and the tendency of the wet starch to adhere to the varnished wooden blade is not so great as with steel An ideal starch table would have its bottom perfectly fiat and, transversely, exactly horizontal, but with the necessary inclination longitudinally. The construction of such a table is a difficult problem, as under operating'conditions it is subjected to heavy physical stresses and chemical influences.

The table should be'so constructed and of such material that it will be able to fulfil the followingrequirements under the action of air, water and dilute acids and alkali, and the hard usage due to the method customarily employed in removing the separated starch: It should remain perfectly rigid; it should not become decayed or corroded; it should present a hard durable surface to the starch which will not show wear under operating conditions; it should present a sanitary surface to the starch; and its cost should be as low as possible.

In the operation of the ideal starch table, it should have high efficiency; should produce a good quality of starch; the starch should be removed as soon as possible and as conveniently as possible. The tables when freed from starch should be easily put in a sanitary condition. The arrangement should be such that repairs may be easily made without much interference with the remainder of the system, and the expense for labor should be as low as possible.

The means for handling the starch liquor,

and starch, in this invention are such as to approximate the ideal conditions above specified.

The apparatus consists, in general, of starch tables, each comprising a plurality of unit sections'similar in construction. placed end to end, and securely locked together, the head ends of the complete tables having a suitable means for feeding, in very efficient manner, the starch liquor to the tables, the

tables being mounted on trucks so that the prefer in carrying on the various operations away to show portions of the truck.

included in my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the unit tables mounted on a truck, a portion of the table being broken Fig. 3 1s a side view of the unit table and truck. Fig. at shows an enlarged view-of the means for alining and clamping the two ends of the unit tables together. Fig. 5 is a cross section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a cross section along the line 66 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a portion of the feed plate at the head end of the complete table. Fig. 8 is a cross section of the same along the line 88 of Fig-7. Fig. 9 is a plan view of a portion of a discharging truck with unit tables contained thereon. Fig. 10 is a rear view of a portion of said discharging truck. Fig. 11 is a side view of the discharging system. Fig. 12 is an enlarged detail view of means for locking the unit tables to said discharging truck. Fig. 13 is an edge view of the locking means shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 14: is a side view of a truck system for supplying empty .unit tables to form complete tables. Fig. 15 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 16 is a de' tail view of certain portions of the same.

As shown in Fig. 1, each of the complete tables 9 comprises sixteen of the unit tables or sections 10 placed end to end. As indicated in said figure, these tables are placed in groups 11 of five complete tables in a group, there being twelve groups altogether on the floor. Between these groups are aisles 12 for the passage of workmen, and in which are placed suitable supports for the floor or roof above. Near the central portion of the building are placed tracks 13 extending from one side of the room to the other for the purpose of delivering empty unit tables from the discharge side of the room to the supply side of the room, as will be hereinafter explained.

flonstruet km of the sectional starch tables-1 1Mb of the table sections 10 consists of a channel (Fig. 6) of any suitable substance. I prefer for the purpose-a channel of rolled steel. These channels may be of any suitable dimensions. I prefer sections approximately eight feet long, two feet wide, and with a ten inch flange. The inner surface of this channel is covered with a layer of some suitable material which has a smooth glassy surface and which will not crack or corrode under the action of air, water, acids, or alkali, such as may be contained in the starch liquors. For the purpose I prefer to use a white enamel 15 (Fig. 6) similar to that employed to coat the inner surface of porcelain lined bath-tubs, but of a neutral or slightly acidic character. This enamel completely covers the inner surface of the section in a layer of uniform thickness from end to end, and is ground off flush with the ends of the channel. The ends of the sections are ground perpendicular to the axes of the channels.

The means employed for. alining and locking together the adjacent ends of the sections are indicated in Fig. 4, in which the sections 10 are shown clamped together. Each section 10 is provided at one end with a centering pin 16, on each side of the section. rigidly fastened to the lower portion of the upright flange 17 of the'section. Each section also has a socket 18 on each side of the other end thereof, which is adapted to register with the pin 16 of the adjacent table end,- so that when the pin 16 of one table enters the socket 18 of the other table, as shown in Fig. 4, the respective inner surfaces of the two sections will be exactly in the same planes. When thus alined, by means of the pin and socket, a clamp 19, which is pivoted to each side of the pin-bearing ends of the sections by meansof the pivot 20, is swung into the position shown in Fig. 4 so as to inclose the socket 18; and the two sections are then securely clamped together by means of the screws 21. These screws are operated by detachable wrenches 22, the position of which, relative to the screws, can be shifted at anytime to allow for wear, and this prowides at all times a positive clamping action with a half turn of the clamping screw. Fastened, by means of screws 23, to each end of the sections are gaskets which are of the same dimensions as the cross-sections of the channels. These gaskets may be com posed of any suitable material. I prefer for the purpose rubber. The gaskets serve both as a cushion when the sections are locked together, and 'asa protection for the enamel lining, protecting the lining against chipping due to the slight jar when sections are brought together. The gaskets also provide water-tight joints'between the sections, the importance of which will be seen hereinafter. Each unit section rests on a suitable running gear or truck 25, the section lying between the parallel T-ba-rs 26, and supported by the horizontal projecting flanges .of these bars. Attached at the central portion of each side of each unit section is a pin' 27 which projects outwardly and is attached rigidly to the section by means of the bolted face plates 28, and the counter sunk threaded lu-g 28 Fig. 6. These projecting face. plates 28, when the sections are in place on the trucks, enter into corresponding sockets 29, cut in the vertical flanges of the T-bars 26, as indicated in Fig. 3,;and prevent any longitudinal motion of the sections relative to the trucks, but do not prevent the sections from being conveniently removed from, or placed on, the trucks. The trucks are provided with roller bearings in order to reduce friction as much as possible; and as the trucks are intended to operate only on a straight track, the faces of the wheels are flat and the flanges come close to the rails to prevent lateral motion of the trucks.

The complete starch table rests upon an ordinary track 30, preferably of about 20 in. gage and equal in length to the length of the table sections.

of the table desired. All of such tracks on a. single floor of the table house rest on a sys tem of I-beams combined with a suitable adjusting device (not shown), such that the incline of one-or all of the tracks can be accurately adjusted. On each track is a line of table sections securely locked together, forming a complete table equal in length to the track, and having a uniform inclination equal at all points to that of the track upon which the table rests. It will thus be seen that with the track properly adjusted and with the sections described properly connected, the resulting complete table must necessarily conform to all of the physical requirements of the ideal table, as hereinbefore outlined; and as the table construc-' tion is entirely of steel such a table when once adjusted will remain true, being unaffected by either warping or decay. In

addition, the table presents to the starch a feed-plate, as indicated in Fig. 7, is provided with the alining pins 16 and the clamps 19 By this means the feed plate can be quickly attached to or detached from, the head of a sectional table; and while in position, a water tight joint is formed between the plate and the table by means of a gasket 24. The starch liquor is conveyed to the tables through the pipe 33", and washing water is supplied through the pipe 33. The feed plate includes a tank or chamber 32 into which the starch liquor passes from the combined starch liquor and water pipe-33, and the corrugated idle roller 34, which extends across the plate transversely of the table, and is pivoted at 35 at each end of the feed plate. The surface 36 of the face of the feed plate, which closes the end of the table, also has transverse corrugations, as indicated in Fig. 8. I do not wish to confine myself, however, to corrugations of the form shown in Fig. 8, as other forms may be used. The starch liquor enters the chamber 32 from the supply pipe 33 and passes under the roller 34. This roller, which may be rotated by the liquor itself, serves to lessen the velocity of the flow of the liquor, and also tends to produce an even distribution of the liquor across the entire Width of the feed plate. The horizontal corrugations 36 on the feed plate serve to maintain the flow of liquor uniform while passing down the face of the feed plate, and thus insure a perfectly uniformdistribution of all of the liquor as it passes onto the so that eventually itsubstantially fills this starch.

portion, giving a layer approximately eight inches indepth, which decreases gradually and quite uniformly to a depth of half an inch or less at the foot of the table.

When the four or five sections constituting the head of the table have become sutliciently filled with starch, the starch liquor is shut off and a stream of water in volume substantially equal to that of the liquor is immediately passed over the deposited In this way the velocity of the liquid passing over the table is not interrupted, and the gluten is given no oppor 'tunity to settle upon the surface of the table starch, but instead is immediately removed by the clear water. When the surface of the'starch has thus been washed clean, the water is shut off and the starch is allowed to drain for a'few minutes. The feed plates are then removed, freed from adhering starch, if any, and suspended temporarily on overhead hooks or racks (not shown), out. of the Way. This operation is carried on in groups of five tables each. The starch liquor,after depositing most of the starch, and the washing water passes from the tail ends of the tables into the drain trough 33, and can be retabled or otherwise used in the process.

Discharging the starch.-After a group of tables has been washed and allowed to drain, thestarch in the full sections at the upper ends of the tables is discharged into the proper receiving vessels in the following manner; An electric discharging truck 37, operating on a discharging track 38, is run into position directly in line with a group of five tables to be discharged, as indicated in Fig. 1; Simultaneously an electric supply truck 39, operating on the supply track 40, and carrying five empty sections, is run into position at the foot of the same group of tables, as indicated in Fig. 1. The supply truck, by means of a special mechanism hereinafter to be described, now forces, one at a time, an empty section onto the tail end-of each of the tables, and thereby a corresponding full section is pushed, one at a time, from the head end of each of-the tables onto the discharging truck 37. As soon as the five empty sections are thus forced one at a time into place at the tail end of the table, they are ber of vertical shafts 41, which discharge,

at their lower ends, into starch receivers, or into conveyers.

The complete discharging system comprises, in general, the discharging truck 37, the mechanism on the truck for handling the sections, and the mechanism in each of the receiving shafts 41 for dumping the sections. Mounted on the truck 37 is an electric motor 42 (Fig. 11) operated by means of current received by the trolley 43 from an overhead wire (not shown). The motor is controlled by means of the controller 44 mounted on the truck, and is connected by means of gearing to the driving shaft of the truck in the ordinary manner. By means of this motor 42 the truck may be moved in position at the head end of a group of tables. WVhen in position each track 52 on the truck is in line with a track 30 upon the floor of the table house which carries the table trucks; and, as previously explained, the table sections are then forced onto the discharging truck by means of mechanism, hereinafter to be described, on the supply truck at the other end of the tables. Pins 16 corresponding to the table pins 16, are fixed to the discharging mechanism, and are so positioned as to enter the sockets 18 fixed to the tables when the tables are in place on the truck, and they thus assist in holding the unit tables in position during the dumping process.

lVhen the discharging truck is loaded, it is moved, by means of the motor 42, opposite the receiving shaft where the table sections are to be dumped so as to discharge therefrom the starch. The truck is then looked in proper position by means of a catch 45, backed by a spring 46, and slidably mounted in .guides 47 fixedto one side of the discharging truck, as indicated in Fig. 9. The outer end of the catch 45 passes into a de pression 48 of anarm 49 pivoted to a portion 50 of the frame of the building. When it is desired to move the truck, the arm 49 is released from co-action with the catch 45 by means of a hand-operated lever 51 which operates a cam 51. 1

Mounted on the discharging truck in any suitable manner is the discharging motor 53, which also receives current by means of the trolley 43, and is controlled by the controller 54. The shaft 55 of this motor carries a worm 56, which meshes with the worm gear 57. The worm gear 57 .is mounted on a shaft 58, which extends the full length of the truck and. carries on each end a gear wheel 59 and a guide pulley 60. Each gear clamped to the adjacent tail-end sections. wheel 59 meshes normally with a rack 61, n

which is fixed to the discharging truck, and extends, as shown in Fig. 11, from approximately the central portion of the truck to a very material distance beyond the lefthand side of the truck. When in dumping position, each rack 61 is alined with a rack 62 fixed to the side of a receiving-shaft. And adjacent to each rack 62, attached rigidly thereto, is a guide-way 63 adapted to receive the pulley 60, .and to assist in supporting the dumping mechanism during the dumping process. The dumping mechanism on the truck "37 comprises also wheels 6-1, which are journaled in bearings 68, carried by arms 67. These arms are fixed at their forward ends to the shaft 58; and the rear ends are provided with forks 66 which receive the pins 27 on the table sections, when the sections are forced onto the truck. A bar 66 firmly connects the lower prongs of each two adjacent forks 66.

In order to prevent the pins 27 from moving out from the'forks 66 during the dumping process, I have provided a latch 66 pivoted at each end of the rod 66 and thus to v rotation of the latch in the other direction,

and hence prevents the pin from passing out of the fork. After the dumping process, however, when an empty table, in the manner hereinafter described, is forced onto the.

return track 13, a portion of the shoulder 66 of the latch, which projects outwardly,

comes in contact with a stop 66*, and the latch is thus rotated intoa horizontal position, and the table pin 27 may then pass freely out of the fork 66 as the table is forced farther onto the return track 18.

The dumping operation is carried out in practice as follows: The motor 53 is started was to rotate the gears 59 in the direction indicatetd by the arrow; and thus the dumping mechanism, together with the table sections and their supporting trucks, are movedforward. The tracks 65, supporting the wheels 64, are inclined upwardly as indicated at 69,; so that, as the mechanism moves forward, the table sections .are raised; and the plates 28 (Fig. 3) fixed to the sides of the tables, are raised out of the sockets 29 of the table trucks. As the mechanism moves farther forward, the upwardly projecting ends 70 of the rails 52 prevent further movement of the table trucks, while the dumping mechanism, together with the table sections, continues moving forward. As the gear wheels 59 pass from the rack 61 to the rack 62, the guide pulleys 60 pass into the guide-ways 63; and further operation of the motor causes the guide pulleys to pass along the guide-ways 63 around the curve 63*, and

downwardly, so as to tip the forward end of the dumping mechanism, together with the table sections, downwardly. At this time the supporting wheels 64 rest against the upwardly projecting portions 71 of the tracks 65, and thus form pivots around which the dumping mechanism and tables rotate until ultimately the tables pass somewhat beyond the vertical position, and the starch is discharged down the shaft. When in this position, it is a very simple operation to remove any starch still adhering to the inverted sections by means of wooden bladed scrapers. operated by the workmen. The sections while still inverted are then quickly rinsed off with a small amount of water; after which the motor 53 is reversed and the sections are thus carried back to their original positions on their respective trucks. On the return, plates 28 engage projections 29 on the trucks, thus moving same intoproper position for the plates 28 to drop into the sockets 29. The discharging truck is now run to the return tracks 13, onto which the empty sections are to be delivered,

and from which they are to bereceived by the supply truck. Whenthe tracks of the discharging truck are alined with the tracks 13, the motor 53 forces the'empty sections onto tracks 13 until the latch 66 is rotated by the stop 66, so as to release the sections from the dumping mechanism. Any suitable means may then be employed for removing the empty sections entirely from the discharging truck onto the return tracks 13. If desired, the sections may be pushed manually onto the return tracks, and gravity may be allowed to force them down to the.

lower end of the tracks, or a link belt mechanism can be employed as indicated in Fig. 1.

Supplying empty sections or wait tableau- The supply system comprises the supply truck 39 and the mechanism thereon, for receiving the empty table sections, or unit tables, and delivering them where desired at the foot of the tablesf A motor 72 mounted on the supplytruck is operated by means of current received from the trolley 73 and is controlled by the controller 74. The motor is geared to the driving shafts of the truck in the ordinary manner, and thus provides means for moving the trucks along the tracks 40 opposite the tail ends of the tables. A motor 72, controlled by the controller 74:, is also mounted on the truck and is adapted to operate the supply mechanism by means of a worm 75 meshing with the worm gear 76. which operates a shaft 77 extending the full length of the supply trucks. The shaft 77 is journaled in bearings 77 supported by the standards 89. Fixed to the shaft77 are gear wheels 78 meshing with other gear wheels 79, which are journaled in bearings supported by arms 79 pivoted to the shaft 77. The gear wheels 79, by means of handles 80, may be caused to mesh respectively with racks 81, or with racks 82, or to be held out of' mesh with either of said racks. These racks 81 and 82 are fixed to the frames 83 which are loosely-mounted transversely of the supply truck. These frames 83 are distributed in pairs across the truck, each pair being adapted to receive and deliver a single table section as indicated in F ig. 15. The table sections are received between the two racks, the pins 27 of the tables being received by yokes 84 fixed to lugs 85, projecting from the lower portions of the frames 83. The rear ends of the rack frames are supported by means of wheels 86'running on the rails 87. The front ends of the rack frames are supported by means of wheels 88 resting on the upper edges of theflanges 17 of the table sections, the table sections being supported on their trucks by means of the rai1's87.

When a rackframe is returned after delivering its sections, therack frame is supported by the gear wheel 79, meshing with racku8'2, .until the wheel is thrown into neutral position between the two racks 81 and 82. The forward end of the rack frame then sinks slightly, until it rests upon pins 83 (Fig. 16) fixed to the supports 89. The two rack frames of each pair are firmly connected together by means of the shafts 88. When the supply truck is in position to deliver sections to the tables, the rails 87 of the-trucks are alined with the rails 30 of the table trucks, and the supply truck may be held in position by any suitable means, such as the catch 45 and lever 49 hereinbefore described with reference to the discharge truck. I a

In practice, the operation of the supply mechanism is as follows: The gear wheels 79 associated with one of the table sections is brought into co-action with the racks 81 by means of the corresponding lever 80; while the wheels 79 associated with each of the other table sectionsis thrown out of co-action with the racks by means of corre sponding levers 80. The motor 72 is then operated so as to cause the gear wheel 79 to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow; As this wheel is held from horizontal movement by means of the standards 89 fixed to the supply truck, the rack frames 83, together with the particular table section associated therewith, is forced forward as the gear wheels 79 rotate. Thefront end of the table section comes in contact with the rear section of the starch table upon the track 30, and the entire table is thus forced forward, the head section being forced onto the discharging truck as hereinbefore described. \Vhen the table section which is being supplied has been forced a sufficient distance onto the track 30, it is clamped to the rear section of the table by means of a clamp 19 in the manner hereinbefore described; and a latch 90, over which the shaft 92 of the section truck passes, and which is supported by a spring 91, springs upwardly and prevents backward movement of the complete table, in the manner indicated in Fig. 14. This is necessary because of the downwardinclination of the tracks, as previously explained. \Vhen the table section is thus in place, the gear wheels 79 are thrown into co-act-ion, by means of the handle 80, with the racks 82 and the rack frames 83 are thus forced backward into position on the supply truck. The gear wheels 79 are then thrown into neutral position, and

a second table section is delivered to the rear end of the adjacent table in a similar manner. This process is repeated until the five sections are properly delivered and the respective rack frames returned to position.

It is evident that the exact manner ofoperation of the supply mechanism above described is immaterial. the table sections are delivered may be varied, or two or more table sections may be delivered at the same time, or all of the rack frames may be .returned simultaneously after the table sections are all delivered. By means of elevators 42*, located at the end of the discharge and supply tracks, the discharge or supply truck may be transferred from one floor to another, and in this way the same trucks may be used to handle the entire output of a table house. The return tracks 13 also serve as a reserve space for extra table sections. 'With a number of such extra sections on each floor, ample time is given for repairing or oiling a section between the time it is discharged and the time it arrives at the lower end of the supply track and enters the process again. In case a defect is sufliciently seri ousthe truck or the entire section can be replaced while on the supply track.

It will thus be seen thatI have provided a-method of handling starch by means of which the starch liquor may be fed onto the tables in a slowly moving layer, perfectly uniform in depth and velocity at all points in the entire width of the tables; By this means all tendency of channels to form in the deposited starch is eliminated, because channels form only when the rate of flow or the thickness of the liquor as it passes over the starch is not uniform, providing the surface itself is perfectly flat and horizontal transversely. By the use of the steel tables in the manner hereinbefore described, such a flat horizontal surface is provided, and all warping or tilting tendency of the surface by use is also prevented. The starch is deposited on a hard, white sanitary surface, thus entirely eliminating contamination by foreign substances, such as wood The order in which splinters from the tables themselves, and

substances collecting in the pores or cracks or on the surface of the wood. It becomes unnecessary to remove any starch except from such portions of the table as are completely filled. Inthis Way all sections re ceive equal service and equal wear. And before discharging, the gluten on the surface of the starch may be completely refectly sanitary.

moved by water displacement, instead of by scraping, as in the manner hertofore ractised. The discharging is done entire y by machinery, requiring the services of but two or three men. It is done much more rapidly, and neither the starch nor the starch-depositing surfaces. during the depositing or the discharging process come in contact with any source of contamination, such as the feet of the workmen, or the shovels used by the workmen. The sections when discharged are completely freed from adhering starch, or other organic matter which-would become a source of bacterial infection, in fact, they are rendered per- The empty sections may be returned immediately to process, eliminating much idle apparatus, whereas, according to methods hertofore employed, it

is common for full and empty tables to lie idle for considerable periods, causing injury both to the tables and to the starch thereon. The method allows of the removal from the system of any defective section without interfering at all with the complete sectional tables, and also allows necessary repairs without any interruption of the process. In addition the method allows the use of strictly fire-proof construction, and provides such construction as will stand far more wear and use than the tables .ordinarily used. It will also be seen that if itwith a perfectly sanitary surface, it is evident that there will be no tendency toward infection or fermentation. For this reason the sulfurous acid content of the starch liquor entering the tables could be reduced. This would reduce sulfur costs, help to'eliminatc complaints of sulfurous acid, sulfuric acid. or sulfates in the finished starch, and would reduce the injurious effect of sulfurous acid given off at all parts of the process on the exposed iron work of the building. It will also be noticed that,

entirely independently of the depth of starch at the foot of the table, the ordinary practice of raising or Wiring up, as it is called, the foot of the table to increase table capacity becomes entirely unnecessary. Such Wiring up of the foot of the. tables, unless done very carefully is decidedly injurious to the quality of the starch, as in practice, almost without exception, tables are so wired up as to form a dam and pocket at the foot of the table, which results in the formation of a stagnant mol of gluten at this point. Gluten and other impurities are,

therefore, increased in the starch near the rality of similar sections adapted to be,

placed end to end, automatic means for alining the adjacent ends of said-sections as they are brought in contact, and means for clamping together said adjacent ends, said table having a long surface, horizontal transversely, slightly inclined longitudinally and having vertical side walls and a detachable plate closing said surface at its high end.

2. The combination of a starch table and apparatus for handling tabled starch, consisting of a starch depositing table, comprising a plurality of similar sections placed end to end, a portable truck supporting each of said sections, and a continuous track supporting all of the trucks of said table.

3. The combination of a starch table and apparatus for handling tabled starch, comprising a plurality of similar sections placed end to end, a portable truck supporting each of said sections, and a continuous track supporting all of the trucks of said table, said track. being straight, but-higher at one end than at the other.

4. The combination of a starch table and apparatus for handling tabled starch, consisting of a starch table comprising a plurality of similar section's placed end to end, and having a long surface horizontal trans versely, slightly inclined longitudinally and having vertical side Walls, said surface being closed atits high end with a detachable plate, said plate being provided with corrugations on its inner surface and with ends of said tank, said plate and the side of salijd tank forming an end-board for the ta le.

- 6. The combination of a starch table and apparatus for handling tabled starch, consisting of a sectional starch table, said table comprising a plurality of separable sections, portable means supporting each of said sections, and portable means for receiving and delivering a plurality of said sections and their supports.

7. The combination of a starch table and apparatus for handlingtabled starch, comprising a plurality of separable sections, portable means supporting each of said sections, portable means for receiving a plurality of said sections and their supports, and other means resting on said last mentioned portable means for removing said sections from their supports, for tilting said sections, and for delivering said sections onto their supports.

8; The combination of a starch table and 9. The combination of a starch table and apparatus for handling tabled starch, consisting of a plurality of starch tables, each .of said tables composed of a plurality of sections, mean for receiving said sections, means for discharging starch from said sections, and means for receiving and delivering said empty sections.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature 40 i in the presence of two witneses.

ROBERT F. SHERMAN.

Witnesses:

EDWARD Rims, ROBERT L. BEARDEN. 

